Album Review: Homegrown by Across All Oceans

Across All Oceans are a five-piece emo/pop punk band from Middlesbrough in the North of England. After forming in 2012 and releasing their debut EP Looking Back in 2014, Across All Oceans release a second EP named Homegrown on the 22nd of February. I was lucky enough to get an early copy.

The first song on Homegrown is Everywhere But Home. Whenever I think about UK emo music the first band I think of is Moose Blood so when I clicked play that was the sound I was expecting. As ever with when I assume something, I was wrong. Lead singer Andrew Thomson has a much more aggressive vocal style that I really love. The song goes along at a good pace and is a fantastic start to the EP. The second song, Permanence, shows more of the pop punk side of Across All Oceans. On my iPod I have a playlist with all the music I have to review and the other day this song popped on whilst I had it on shuffle. My first thought was ‘why are The Flatliners on this playlist’. This is by no means a slight on the band, The Flatliners are one of my most favourite bands and Chris Cresswell has one of the most recognisable voices in punk rock. Up next is latest single Monophobia. This song is a great punk track with some great hooks and sing-a-long moments. Starting slowly with just vocals and guitars, the band picks the tempo up slightly and brilliantly combines emo and heartfelt punk rock to create a fantastic sound that can't be ignored. Title track Homegrown goes back to a more typical emo sound with Thomson's vocal becoming a bit less harsh, perhaps making the song more accessible. The song is about questioning your place in life and if you are at the stage that you're supposed to be. I can see this song being extremely popular with the younger people with its cleaner sound. Homegrown finishes with a song named Eston Square. Eston Square starts out slowly with some really restrained, quiet vocals. Soon enough this changes and the song becomes a huge, up-tempo, sing-a-long emotional punk rock anthem. At the start of the song I wasn't so sure that I would like it but by the end I was ready to proclaim it as the song of the year (very early days I know).

Across All Oceans are a fantastic band. This genre of punk rock is getting more and more popular and I wouldn't be surprised if AAO (as I'm sure they'll become known soon enough) could have a breakout year on the strength of this EP. It's very, very good.

Pre-order Homegrown here: https://acrossalloceans.bandcamp.com/

Like Across All Oceans here: https://www.facebook.com/AcrossAllOceanOfficial

Album Review: Here We Come Again by The Dumbheads

I don't think that I've ever heard punk rock from Russia before until late last year when a chap named Dmitriy got in touch with me and asked me to review Here We Come Again by The Dumbheads. I’m always looking to check out new bands from all over the world and, being excited after reading the bands influences include The Ramones, The Queers and Screeching Weasel, I hurriedly checked them out.

The opening song on the EP is called The Good, The Bad, The Dumbhead and is a completely instrumental introduction track. As you can guess from the title of the track and the EP's cover art there is a slight Western theme to the punk rock sound. The first proper song on the EP shares the EP's title Here We Come Again. Happily The Dumbheads are a band that wear their influences on their sleeves with some fast, three-chord pop punk with catchy lyrics and hooks galore. You'll be singing the chorus of "Here We Come Again" after just one listen and it will be stuck in your head for days. The next song, Save Your Breath, continues with the three chord pop punk but also has a lot more of a rock and roll aggression to it. This might be a bit of an obscure reference but the vocals really remind me of early 2000's Californian street punk band Pistol Grip (a really underrated band). The vocals are deeper than you might expect from a band with the influences that The Dumbheads have but I like it, it shows the band is not just copying the bands that are their heroes. The fourth song on the EP is titled Lost In Your Game and is a bit softer but definitely keeps the rock attitude. People often describe the Queers as being a cross between The Beach Boys and The Ramones, Lost In Your Game makes me think of The Queers but if The Queers played with a lot more rock and roll. Surf rock is not a genre of music you would expect from a Russian band but they make it work really well. Up next is a cover of The Replacements Rattlesnake. I really should listen to more of The Replacements as they appear to have influenced a lot of bands. I've never heard Rattlesnake but I can't imagine that The Replacements played it as fast as The Dumbheads do here. This fast and rowdy version of the song is actually my highlight of the EP. Here We Come Again is completed with another instrumental track named Secret Agent In Baghdad. It's interesting for a band to have two instrumental tracks on what is a six-song EP. It's a nice idea though as it helps bookend it and makes it feel like there are proper starting and finishing positions.

Stream and download Here We Come Again here: https://dumbheads.bandcamp.com/album/here-we-come-again

Like The Dumbheads here: https://www.facebook.com/thedumbheads

Album Review: Pardon Us/Only Strangers Split

In November of last year, Pardon Us and Only Strangers released a new six-song split featuring three songs from each band.

The first three songs are from Liverpudlian three-piece Pardon Us, who feature former members of Flamingo 50, Down & Outs (who are reuniting to play Manchester Punk Festival) and Town Bike. Their first song is titled Warfarin Blues. Playing some indie pop punk that is becoming more and more popular there is a beautiful and simple charm to the song. This type of music always put a smile on my face; it's super accessible and easy to listen to whilst retaining a great punk attitude. The next song, Only Pain, is played at a faster tempo than Warfarin Blues and definitely has more of a punk rock feel to it. There is a great maturity to the song that will attract older listeners but it’s filled with enough hooks to grab everyones attention. The drums are played at a great pace throughout and create a wonderful backbone to the track and the use of dual vocals really gives the song a lot of life. The final Pardon Us Song is titled Stinking Rich. This song is about stepping over people to make more money - I don't like these kind of people and I imagine most of you don’t either. The chorus in particular really stands out, completely changing the melody of the song to a shout-it-out gang vocal style. One line that particularly stood out to me was "Your Name Is Richard, But I Will Call You Dick".

Only Strangers are a four piece melodic punk band from Stoke-on-Trent who are influenced by bands such as The Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio and Hot Water Music. The first song from the Only Strangers side of the split is called La Liga. The Hot Water Music influence is completely evident in this track as it feaures dual, gravelling vocals and the darker toned duelling guitar that the Gainesville legends are known for. The next song, Enemy, has more of a catchy pop punk sound to it, it’s full of hooks and catchy lyrics. Just past the middle of the track there is an excellent interlude where the band show off all kinds of musical ability including one hell of a guitar solo before finishing with one final sing-along. The final Only Strangers song and the final song on the split is called Failed To Notice and sees the boys take us on a rollercoaster of highs and lows with a series of tempo, key and melody changes. This is my favourite song on the entire release (and they're all very good). I love the rollercoaster the band manage to take you on and it's a song that I can imagine being so much fun live.

Only Strangers and Pardon Us are two bands who, whilst not being overly similar in sound, do have at least one thing in common - they write absolutely brilliant punk rock songs. Definitely two bands I will be looking out for much more of in 2016.

Sream and buy the split here: https://pardonus.bandcamp.com/album/pardon-us-only-strangers-split

Like Pardon us here: https://www.facebook.com/wearepardonus

Like Only Strangers here: https://www.facebook.com/onlystrangersuk

Album Review: A War Against You by Ignite

Written by Dave Chivers

Is the real life? Is this just fantasy? How much does frontman Zoli sound like Freddie Mercury? The opening track, aptly titled Begin Again, quickly shows that Ignite are back and they mean business. Like Bohemian Rhapsody, there are some impressive 3-way harmonies (Zoli over Zoli?) belting out the chorus straight away and it left me feeling very optimistic.

Nothing Can Stop Me keeps the posi-vibes flowing, fully charged with punk rock energy. In my mind at least, it would fit well over a classic training montage.

I was less certain about This Is A War, which I'd streamed when it was first available in December. It's certainly not a weak song but now having heard the other tracks, I feel they should have chosen another to gain more interest. I wasn't expecting too much from the album because that was all I had to go on.

The gang vocals on Oh No Not Again are very catchy (We Will Rock You?) and I'm sure this will be a firm crowd favourite. Ok, they're not the greatest lyrics and I'm sure 'oh no' doesn't accurately reflect the feelings of desperate residents as another army marches into their city, but it is radio friendly.

As a bassist myself, the bass strumming intro pricked my ears up instantly in Alive. The chorus is a tad obvious, with the ‘woahs’ but, really, what’s a good punk rock album without ‘woahs’?

Next up is the very solid You Saved Me. This will get your head rocking so hard your neck will ache for days. Unfortunately, and I’m sorry to share my pain with you, someone pointed out to me that ‘you saved me’ sounds a lot like ‘you’re gonna be the one that saves me’ from Oasis’s Wonderwall. Thankfully it still hasn’t stopped me from singing along.

Revolution is a common theme for punkers and Rise Up is enough to inspire some kind of action, albeit it's unlikely to be more than a Twitter or Facebook rant about the state of this country and delayed public transport. Regardless, this is a winner and I particularly love the pre-chorus/chorus - 'I can't turn my back and just walk away!'

Forget Tower Bridge! Forget the Golden Gate Bridge or Sydney Harbour Bridge! They fade into insignificance when held up against The Suffering bridge. I look forward to it on every listen. The harmonies are perfectly placed and it has a guitar ‘solo’ leading up to it.

Zoli appears to be a very passionate guy, which is a useful trait for anyone who wants to write songs. A key area of concern for him is the environment and in How Is This Progress? he directly challenges the false assumption that the situation is improving. I appreciate the sentiment but nothing could be more influential than the Captain Planet theme tune.

Lyrics about war, invasions and the struggles of refugees trying to find better lives would be poignant at any time in this century (and the last) but given the current situation in Syria, recent terrorist attacks, and the politics of immigration, Ignite have captured the zeitgeist of 2016.

I'd heard the intro to You Lie a few times prior to buying the album as it was used in some promotional clips. It was the perfect choice really; the rolling drums and frantic guitars tell you to wake up and pay attention because something big is about to happen. There’s no doubt that the full song packs a punch and although the chorus was a little underwhelming for me, the distorted bass and thrashing drums do make this track stand out.

Descend, the penultimate and one of the more melodic tracks, seems to be about how family stick by you despite your misdemeanours – easily relatable for most punk rock kids. This is my personal favourite due to the extremely catchy chorus, although the whole album is laden with brilliant hooks.

As if to give the drummer a break for all his vigorous effort thus far, Work closes the album (almost – don’t forget the secret track) with guitars and vocals only. Once again, the harmonies provide something special for listeners and lighters/mobiles will be held high for this one live. The wait was definitely worth it and I'm sure Ignite are very happy with what they've created here. They shouldn't have to become a Queen tribute act any time soon. Time will tell if it ages as well as Our Darkest Days but it’s certainly got the potential to. I've had it playing on repeat since release and I haven't even felt like skipping a track, which is no small thing. If, like me, you need your punk rock batteries recharging, buy this album and get to a show (26th Jan at Camden Underworld).

Buy A War Against You here: http://www.banquetrecords.com/CM75052

Like Ignite here: https://www.facebook.com/igniteband

Album Review: Will We Never Learn by The Pisdicables

Written by Dan Peters

Be Sharp Records have a very good track record when it comes to putting out quality ska punkers, having blessed the world with the exceptional  We Did This To Ourselves by Call Me Malcolm. Apparently they are intent on continuing the trend with big ensemble ska outfit The Pisdicables.

This is revivalist ska in the vein of The Slackers or The Aggrolites with a healthy dose of punk thrown in to keep things driving along. If you are a fan of trumpet melodies with keyboard rhythms along with your upstrokes then this is definitely a record to keep in your collection. As mentioned these guys feel like they come with very heavy HellCat Records influences. I could pick a track at random from Will We Never Learn and it would sit fantastically on a Give ‘Em  The Boot comp.

Now I’ve hopefully planted the style in your head lets move onto whether the album is actually good. Well the production quality is outstanding. For an album put out by a small indie label the quality compared to huge label releases (something like The Skints) is comparable and depending on your tastes better. This begs to be turned up to eleven on a huge sound system and skanked to till the sun comes up.

Song wise everything is a dance hall hit. Pisdicables have an easy flow style which is undeniably easy on the ears and with telegraphed but welcome dips and uplifts in songs time and again you’ll be dancing along like its your 100^th listen before you’ve realised. There is a familiarity here which rather than feeling derivative helps to make the sound that much more enjoyable.

Stand outs for me are Never Learn, a hypnotically great jump-along smasher about living it up. I defy anyone to stay still while listening to it. Also a personal  favourite is Spooky. A great groove and perfect example of how well the band transitions between heavier high energy and mellow dub. If it’s your first time having heard of The Pisdicables it’s the perfect introductory track.

All in all you already know if you like this band. If Ska/Reggae/Dub is a genre you adore you’ll find few that can pull it off with as much energy and charisma as The Pisdicables.

Stream and download Will We Never Learn here: https://besharp.bandcamp.com/album/will-we-never-learn

 Like The Pisdicables here: https://www.facebook.com/ThePisdicables

Discovering New Music

Something people often ask me is "how do you hear about all of these weird sounding bands that you write about?" The first answer that usually comes into me head is "I listen to things other than Radio 1 or Kiss or whatever is popular on the radio" But then I remember I don't have to be a blunt idiot all of the time and I talk about how I do discover all of the bands that I listen to. I figured that this might be an interesting topic for a column so here it is.

I think that the very best way to discover new bands is to go out and go to gigs, even if you don't know any of the bands that are playing, chances are you might enjoy them. Generally if you don't know any of the bands playing then tickets will be cheap so it won't be like you will be spending a lot of money if you don't end up liking any of the bands. I'm always surprised when I go to bigger gigs at the amount of people who just turn up for the headline band. I can't remember a time when I've ever done that. Watching the support bands is something I always enjoy at a gig and is such a good way to find new bands. One of my best discoveries from watching support bands is French hardcore band Wank For Peace. They were supporting Ducking Punches and River Jumpers at the Brixton Windmill in 2014 and I was just blown away by their energy, passion and aggression and they went on to be one of the bands I've listened to most since. I probably would never have listened to that band if I hadn't have gotten to the gig early for the supports and if I hadn't I would have missed out. Going to gigs and getting there early is the best way to find your new favourite band!

Another way I find fantastic new bands is the website Bandcamp. Sure there are a lot of great sites for streaming music legally on the Internet these days such as Spotify and Soundcloud, but for me Bandcamp is the best for finding exciting and new bands. In particular Bandcamp has a section on its website called Discover that shows the bands that are the best selling, or most recommended by other artists or have the newest releases in every genre of music you could possibly think of. You can then stream the music for free with no adverts and if you like what you hear you can buy the music and merch direct from the bands. You can also see the bands’ tour dates on the page. Spotify and Soundcloud don't offer such a thing. Another great feature on Bandcamp is the ability to add friends and check out what they have been buying. This is how I discovered one of my favourite acts of 2015 - Paper Rifles. Randomly clicking through Avon's Bandcamp I checked Paper Rifles out and the rest is history. I can spend hours clicking around Bandcamp checking out new music, sometimes spending far too much money in the process. If you're not on Bandcamp already I strongly suggest you join. You can add me as a friend too - Colin Clark.

One way I used to discover new bands before digital music became so big was by reading the booklets that come with CD's where bands would list people and bands that they wanted to thank. I would always make a note (sometimes mentally, often physically) and look out for certain bands next time I was in HMV or Virgin Megastore. I'd also look out for what record label the CD was put out on and check out other bands on that label. I'm pretty sure that other punks who are of similar age to me will have grown up buying every CD from Epitaph Records or Fat Wreck Chords just because they were put out on that label. They were marks of quality - even if you had no idea who the band were you knew you were going to love it.

Another great way to discover new bands is on compilations. Whether it's on a CD or just available digitally, I love a compilation or a playlist. Always very reasonably priced and full of amazing bands, there is always something fun on a compilation. In the digital age it is possible to get a compilation of seemingly unlimited bands for next to nothing. Often compilations are put together to help raise money for charity so not only can you discover some amazing new acts you can do it for a good cause. 

These are just some of the ways I've found are excellent ways to discover new music and I hope anyone reading this has found it helpful. Alternatively you could just start your own blog, work hard and become lucky enough to have bands send you albums and EPs!